Chapter 13
Matt
The heavy volume of the non-human species encyclopedia sitting on my lap shows me pictures of diverse Chaos Eaters from a variety of ancestries. I’m reviewing the entry on them in the encyclopedia just in case I forgot something while dealing with the one at the mall. The fact that he packed up and left at the mention of the Hub’s owner, Loretta, and her Headsman, the Beast, makes me wonder if I missed something on my first perusal. Chaos Eaters aren’t a homogeneous species, rather they are a class of Prime World Eaters borne from any god or godling of chaos. I already knew enough of this entry to recognize the person at the mall, but I read with purpose now.
I want to know his weakness, why he would capitulate in the face of Loretta, a touch-telepath, and the Beast, who is ostensibly human. Nothing here indicates why he would run away at the mere mention of the Beast. The Headsman is known to be ruthless, but he’s still only human, nothing a Chaos Eater can’t handle.
Loretta and her Headsman both have their own entry in the encyclopedia because the person or people who compiled the book thought some individuals deserved their own entries, specifically people with power. Even Deejay has his own entry, which I thought was funny because it’s under his popular title, ‘Maledict, the’, not his political one; his preferences extend even to the written word.
Loretta’s entry explains not only what she is, a touch-telepath like Kendall, but also a lot of the history and goings-on of the Hub. She was the first person to create a Hub and the idea spread like wildfire. The Hub, and Loretta specifically, enforces non-human laws, oversees the execution of justice, and polices the non-humans under her jurisdiction. But the Hub is as much a place of business as it is a governing body. In fact, it started purely as a place of business before Texas was a State and evolved into its current form. Loretta runs a highly successful black market for both humans in the know and non-humans.
The encyclopedia listed at least ten times in the last century that the human police have raided the Hub in search of criminal activity. In fact, the Houston police force and the FBI consider Loretta the leader of an organized crime syndicate. It’s not untrue, but non-humans don’t consider themselves under human jurisdiction, so the Hub caters to a broad range of appetites and doesn’t consider the services it provides to anyone with the right amount of money illegal.
Loretta herself oversees the execution of justice for any governing body that wishes to use her services. She will provide financial services for punishments requiring reparations, and she oversees the corporal and capital punishments via cage matches with her Headsman, aka the Beast, aka Loki Swanson. She charges an admission fee for anyone not related to the crime and the Hub provides the means for spectators to bet on the matches as well.
A knock on my door, brings me out of my studies. Knowing it’s Deejay, I glance at the clock and run my fingers through my hair. My heart starts thumping in my chest at the thought of being alone with him again.
That fucking kiss.
I get up off my bed and open my door. “Hey,”
I greet him, keeping my voice low so that it doesn’t carry down the hall.
He smiles up at me, lighting up like he does; it’s good that he’s happy. “You did good today, Matt. You recognized the threat and did what you had to in order to keep your family safe.”
I frown thoughtfully. “I’m reading up on Chaos Eaters just in case. But there’s not much there I can use. I’m not a god with enough power to defeat him if he actually attacks our family.”
“How did you recognize him in the first place? Also, you mentioned a Naga and Fae?”
he questions curiously.
“I’ve read the encyclopedia once, but it was a quick read. I only memorized the entries for the creatures up to letter N. I’m lucky that I did that much, otherwise I might have never noticed the creatures targeting the boys.”
I’m annoyed with myself for not getting through every entry. “I won’t be caught with my pants down again,”
I promise both him and myself.
“You weren’t caught off-guard, Matt. You were on guard and you dispelled the threats. Though, it boggles me that you thought a Naga was a threat. They’re such a benign species, I am genuinely shocked it was targeting the boys,”
he comments, expression exactly as surprised as he says.
“His aura was heavy; it was pretty obvious that he was one of the bad ones.”
Deejay cocks his head at me, examining me curiously. “You can sense auras?”
I squint at him, confused by his question. What does that even mean? Sensing auras? “No,”
I pause when he doesn’t react the way I expect.
“Huh,”
he grunts, frowning at me. “How did you know his aura was heavy?”
I furrow my brows at him, bewildered again by his question. “It looked weighed down. Most of it pooled around his ankles and his head was completely exposed. If he hasn’t already victimized a kid, he definitely will soon. He has no defense for his mind anymore. His aura can’t protect him against insanity at this point. It took some serious convincing to scare him away. Soon he won’t fear for his life more than he desires to eat a kid.”
Deejay takes a deep breath and holds up a single finger. “Matt,”
he says, opening his mouth and closing it again. He purses his lips and squints at me like I did to him moments ago. “Matt. You said you were human, right?”
I nod slowly. “Of course.”
“How?”
he asks, beckoning me with his hand to follow him.
I follow him down the stairs toward the kitchen as I try to understand his question, but I don’t get it. “I don’t understand the question. How what?”
“How do you see auras? Do you do something special to see them?”
he asks as he grabs the milk and two mugs from the mug tree.
“I literally just look at a person. Just like everyone else. I see a dark aura and I know something’s wrong. I see a bright aura, and I am just as attracted to it as you are.”
He pours two cups of milk and microwaves them until they’re warm, silent with a contemplative look on his face. When the microwave dings, he takes the cups out and pours honey, cardamom, and a drop of vanilla and lavender in each, before stirring them. He breaks his silence as he hands me one. “Humans can’t and almost zero non-human species can see auras. Some Diviners can, but they have to expend magic to see auras and they aren’t human. They typically have a god in their ancestry.”
“Well, I’m not a Diviner,”
I snort in disbelief. “I have heard and read about hundreds of humans that talk about auras. They can see them just like me.”
“Most of them are liars and the ones that aren’t are Diviners in the psychic reading business,”
he says straight-faced.
“No,”
I disagree. “I—I guess that not everyone sees what I do, but that doesn’t mean they can’t see it at all. I’ve mentioned auras before, and people usually agree with my assessment when that happens.”
I’m having a hard time adjusting to the thought that something I thought everyone could see, for my whole life, isn’t something most people can see. “My dad could see them, and I know he could because he taught me how to read them Cary too, he can see auras like me.”
“Which makes perfect sense if you and Cary got the talent from your father. If your father wasn’t completely human it could be a throwback to whatever ancestors brought in the ability to your genetic line from the non-human species,”
he points out.
It’s difficult to argue when his aura keeps getting brighter as he gets excited. He really believes that Cary and I are not wholly human, and Cary does have that non-human aura. And I guess my dad did too, back when I was much younger before his aura went bad. Why did I think I was human? “Ok, so if we assume that I have some kind of latent non-human in me, what kind? I haven’t memorized the whole encyclopedia yet, but I can’t think of any non-human that can see auras without a trick or fetish or third eye.”
He shakes his head. “Neither can I, but you have the encyclopedia, you can find the right one if it exists. I am convinced that if you can see auras just hanging out without trying, then you are not human. There’s other indications that you may have some non-human in you, but they’re subtle.”
His gaze sweeps over me and I love how the excitement in his aura tinges with a little magenta around the edges. “For example, your physical age isn’t exactly that of an almost eighteen-year-old. In human years, you look about a decade older than you are. You act more mature than the typical human teenager, but that’s just as explainable by the situation of having to care for Cary and growing up fast because of your previous home situation. I’m just saying that the indications of non-human ancestry are there if you’re looking for them, but they’re not exclusive to non-human hybrids. The aura sight is what cinches it for me.”
I frown into my cup, taking a sip of the soothing concoction as I contemplate the possible consequences of being a non-human hybrid. “Obviously if I am a hybrid of some kind, that changes some things for me. I could fall under non-human laws that I don’t currently. I will need a resource to know how this, if it's true, changes things.”
“It’s true,”
he insists. “I will give you an official copy of the Houston Hub by-laws for you to study because the Demesne D’Aquino falls under those laws. However, it would be helpful to find out your species as soon as possible because your species might have laws on the books that don’t apply to other species but will be enforceable by the Houston judiciary. For example, Colt will have to follow the laws of the Council of Diviners even though he’s part of my domain and I don’t have those laws on my books. Understand? Whatever your species is may have laws that I can’t trump because they are good for the whole non-human community.”
I finish my cup and stare at the remnants of the cardamom. “Cary has the same kind of aura you and the other biological nephews have. He shines. Even Robbie shines. I’m ninety-nine percent sure it’s a non-human thing because even the happiest kids at my school don’t radiate like you guys. I can’t see my own aura, but if I could, I would guess it shines like that too. I need to know sooner rather than later if I’m going to teach Cary; I don’t like not knowing what the laws, limits, and rights are for me.”
Deejay reaches out and squeezes my hand in an attempt to comfort me. I’m glad he can’t see my aura because comfort is not the feeling that hits me at the skin-to-skin contact. And like the other times before when he held my hand, I hold his back, wishing this meant more than it does. “We can have you species typed and get you on the non-human resident registry for Houston. The Hub will have a document with any relevant laws for your species. If you figure out what you might be before testing, that can be readied for you at the time.”
I know it’s not urgent, but I’m excited and my protective instincts are going a little haywire because I know that I don’t know something about Cary and knowledge is power. “I am going to go find out what I am. What Cary is.”
I stand up immediately missing the warmth of his hand in mine, but this is probably good. I really shouldn’t hold his hand when it means something different to me than him.
Deejay gulps down the last of his milk and stands with me. “Ok. Let me know what you find out and try not to stay up too late.”
I shrug dismissively. Even if I stay up all night, it’s fine. I’ll recoup the loss on the weekend or skip school if I really can’t handle it. Information is far more important right now.